Devices and methods for sensor data analysis of transient errors

Abstract

A sensor analysis system for monitoring operation of a turbine engine of a power plant, the sensor analysis system including a turbine control system configured to monitor a plurality of sensors, a sensor device configured to monitor operation of the turbine engine and transmit a first analog signal, and a sensor analysis device coupled to the sensor device. The sensor analysis device is configured to receive the first analog signal, capture a first plurality of samples from the first analog signal at a first rate defined by a device sampling period, determine a second rate defined by the device sampling period, capture a second plurality of samples from the first analog signal at the second rate, and detect one or more samples of the second plurality of samples that includes a transient signal above or below a threshold value.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sensor analysis system for monitoring operation of a turbine engine of a power plant, the sensor analysis system comprising:
 a turbine control system configured to monitor a plurality of sensors associated with the turbine engine;   a sensor device configured to monitor an aspect of operation of the turbine engine and transmit a first analog signal as an output signal; and   a sensor analysis device coupled to the sensor device, the sensor analysis device configured to:
 receive the first analog signal from the sensor device; 
 capture a first plurality of samples from the first analog signal at a first rate defined by a device sampling period, the first rate comprising a first duration between samples; 
 determine a second rate defined by the device sampling period, the second rate comprising a second duration between samples that is shorter than the first duration between samples captured at the first rate; 
 capture a second plurality of samples from the first analog signal at the second rate, wherein the second plurality of samples includes the first plurality of samples separated by the first duration and an additional plurality of samples separated by the second duration; and 
 detect one or more samples of the second plurality of samples that includes a transient signal above or below a threshold value, wherein the transient signal comprises one or more samples within the additional plurality of samples separated by the second duration. 
   
     
     
         2 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the sensor analysis device is further configured to transmit a first message to a computing device, wherein the first message includes the transient signal within the first analog signal. 
     
     
         3 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the sensor analysis device is further configured to transmit the first message to the turbine control system. 
     
     
         4 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the sensor analysis device is further configured to transmit a second analog signal via an analog output port. 
     
     
         5 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein the second analog signal includes a first portion representing the first analog signal. 
     
     
         6 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein the second analog signal includes a second portion representing a modification of the first analog signal. 
     
     
         7 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 6 , wherein the modification of the first analog signal comprises modifying the first analog signal based on the threshold value. 
     
     
         8 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 6 , wherein the sensor analysis device is further configured to:
 identify a subset of the second plurality of samples within a sampling period subset of the device sampling period; and   determine an average signal value of the subset of the second plurality of samples.   
     
     
         9 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 8 , wherein the second analog signal includes a third portion based on the average signal value. 
     
     
         10 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 9 , wherein the sensor analysis device is further configured to:
 determine a percentage threshold value; and   identify a second subset of the second plurality of samples, wherein the second subset of the second plurality of samples includes one or more samples that exceed the percentage threshold value.   
     
     
         11 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the first message includes one or more samples of the second plurality of samples that include a maximum signal value. 
     
     
         12 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the first message includes one or more samples of the second plurality of samples that include a minimum signal value. 
     
     
         13 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 12 , wherein the first message includes one or more samples of the second plurality of samples that include the maximum signal value and the minimum signal value. 
     
     
         14 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the sensor analysis device is further configured to determine a number of samples of the one or more samples above or below the threshold value. 
     
     
         15 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising a radio frequency (RF) interface coupled to at least one additional sensor. 
     
     
         16 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the sensor analysis device is further configured to receive sensor data via the radio frequency (RF) interface coupled to the at least one additional sensor. 
     
     
         17 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 2 , further comprising a wireless network interface coupled to the computing device. 
     
     
         18 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 17 , wherein the sensor analysis device is further configured to transmit the first message to the computing device via the wireless network interface. 
     
     
         19 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the sensor analysis device is further configured to transmit a message to a mobile device, the message including transient signal data indicating detection of the transient signal. 
     
     
         20 . The sensor analysis system in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the message includes signal values of the one or more samples comprising the transient signal.